I personally believe that we focus too much on the high tech or smart phone apps pushed to us by large marketing engines and miss the larger available market as payment systems companies delivering smart inclusive technology.
Inclusion is the key I believe in the future of payments systems and fintech markets. I use Africa as an example, 37 percent of Africa use non-smart phones. 380 million people who use non-smart phones in Sub Saharan Africa. 4 in 10 remain non-smart phones. This is why the Efixii Couponing Technology that was originally built around feature rich phones delivering NFT coupons has been adapted to deliver NFT coupons through USSD and SMS for Payment Service Providers. In order to develop for inclusion, you need to consider the entire process, coupons, cash-back, and tracking using a wider spectrum of development.
Financial inclusion requires technology that works with the devices people own. Our proposed support for both smartphones and USSD reflects our intention to reach consumers across different levels of connectivity and affordability. USSD adoption among mobile money services, 81% of services surveyed by GSMA in 2024 offered USSD for merchant transactions, USSD remains widespread. Global Survey Result. This means 81% of the market could integrate other USSD beneficial services such as our Efixii Coupon technology that can integrate into any USSD switch with an API. Instantly turning payment systems into everyday sources of savings and marketing, used by a wide inclusive population of handset owners.
There's hundreds of financial service deployments across Africa that use or connect to USSD. Our pilot project in Eswatini is an essential part of delivering a new way of marketing and deploying value to users of mobile money.
Our proposed Instacash Eswatini integration illustrates our approach to distribution:
Bringing GCAC technology into networks where customers already transact. The feasibility work underway is intended to establish how that opportunity can become a practical commercial solution in a user-base of over 220,000 subscribers.
We see the digital wallet as more than a place to hold or transfer money. By connecting payments with coupons, merchant offers and communications, we aim to give consumers a reason to use it every day.
As we build circular economies for projects such as eWaste management, the pickers and owners of devices can have their own wallets to get paid from, as well as receive coupons for recycling and being part of national programs. This can enable several different reward based circular economies where people get paid refunds or cash for taking actions such as recycling, volunteering, attending training and events, rewards, Government initiatives, Emergency access to fund wallets during national disasters, etc. All can be managed via ecosystems that connect to wallets in a large population using inclusive technology. The goal is to deliver more than a Coin, but actual daily value.
Written by Ryan Gibson, Ryan@gcac.tech
